


Katsumi and Hachirouta

by AnnaOkegom



Category: Naruto, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Gen, Orphans, but the ending is cute :3, sad ;---;
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 02:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16883694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOkegom/pseuds/AnnaOkegom
Summary: The night where Hachirouta realizes who Katsumi truly is.





	Katsumi and Hachirouta

The way all of them came inside was so sudden the Tsukikage`s brain barely had time to process what was happening. Hachirouta was merely looking outside, at the moon lightning up his village like he always used to do, then a bunch of ANBU invaded his room, breaking the calm course of his thoughts. He felt both annoyed and violated at that. They had better have a really good reason for that, as it was common belief that nobody should disturb the Tsukikage in his office, especially at that hour. Nobody knew why, but they knew they didn`t have to understand or peek into his private business. The only people who came in were his closest subordinates, and when they came it was normally to deliver something. He never noticed their presence there, as he was way too embraced in his own thoughts to notice the outside world (and surprisingly, still, he never let his guard down) and because they came inside as quiet as silence. Just by seeing that current situation he could tell it was not one of those times. The squad, composed of six ANBU, bowed exagerattedly to him to greet him and apologize for that, sweat dripping from their faces. Hachirouta gave the signal for them to talk.   
"Tsukikage-sama," one of them panted. "We are truly sorry to disturb you right now, but it`s an emergency and if we don`t receive orders soon enough, the future of Soragakure may be threatened."   
"If it`s so severe, then spit it out already!" the Tsukikage snapped.   
"It`s the Jinchuuriki of the Four-Tails." Another one spoke out. "He`s gone. There`s no trace of him. We have already searched the entire village, but he was nowhere."   
"Tsukikage-sama… we are afraid he might have ran away and will try an invasion soon. Or maybe even worse. If any other village finds him, they may use him to attack Sora. Either way, we are in serious danger. What shall we do now, Lord Fourth?"   
He was expecting anything but that. He had seen the boy before, the Jinchuuriki of the Four-Tailed Beast, admired him from afar. Katsumi Minamoto, that was his name. His father had been the Third Tsukikage and was the one who named Hachirouta as his successor right before dying. Hachirouta remembered the scene as if it had took place a few minutes ago. He remembered the pained and exhausted faces of both Takashi Minamoto and Kohaku Uzumaki as they bled from many different places at the same time, their bodies full of injuries.

_Next to them was another dead body of a man he didn`t recognize, but assumed that he had been the one behind the attack of the Four-Tails. Hachirouta wanted to maintain his composure, stay calm and not show any emotion, like a real shinobi should do, but he couldn`t control the shakiness on his hands and lips and his probably shocked and scared expression. Takashi was the leader of Soragakure, the Third Tsukikage and the teacher of Hatsuki, who had been Hachirouta`s teacher. They had never interacted that much, but recently Takashi had took an interest on him and even praised his abilities a few times. A few times, they had even sparred together, and all matches were won by Takashi, but Hachirouta had managed to tire him out and almost defeat him. As time passed, Hachirouta began considering Takashi his new teacher, and later, as a parental figure, just like it had been with Hatsuki. And now, that was happening! Again! At that time, he swallowed, tried to convince himself he had simply been trapped in a horrible genjutsu and none of that was happening, even though he knew he had mentally trained himself against genjutsu and could see through it.  
"Genjutsu: Kai!" he yelled, even though he knew it was useless. Useless. He was simply disrupting his own chakra flow in vain, and he knew that, but that reality was way too painful to accept. "Genjutsu: Kai! Genjutsu: KAI! Why isn`t it working?!"  
"Hachirouta," Takashi whispered, a side of his face against the floor, his eyes looking forwards at nothing. "This is not a Genjutsu." His voice was disturbingly calm, probably because it was just a whisper, for he was too weak to emit any sound louder than that.  
"Don`t try to talk, Takashi-sama! Save your remaining strength. I`ll call some medical ninjas here right away. You and Kohaku-san will be alright, I swear."  
"No."  
No. He felt divided. It was clear that Takashi wanted to say something to him, something important. The Tsukikage coughed blood, the red liquid in a small puddle on the floor next to his mouth. A wind blew past them, shaking Takashi`s spiky, grayish white hair. The man lifted his trembling hand to the side, pointing to his dying wife. Hachirouta stared right at her. She was laying on her belly, using the rest of her strength to keep her head up. Long, red hair sprouted from her head and went past her waist, that alone being a proof of her Uzumaki blood. She seemed to be holding something under her body as to treasure it, as if it was the most precious thing in her whole life. Something so precious that she would gladly give her life if it meant that something would suffer no damage. Hachirouta didn`t hesitate to get up and run over to her.  
"Hold on, Kohaku-san!" he begged, gently rolling her body to the side to let her face the sky.  
Then he saw what was it that she was protecting with her life.  
Embraced by her almost mutilated bleeding arms was a child. A newborn baby. A boy. His eyes were shut softly and his expression was serene, totally oblivious to what was happening around him. His short spiky grayish white hair was the same shade was Takashi`s. That child was Takashi`s son, there __was no doubt about it. The infant was so silent, so immobile that for one second Hachirouta feared he was dead. But no, right after that he made a small movement and let out a childish sound. He was small. A bit too small, even for a newborn.  
"Takashi-sama…" he said, fearful to get near the kid. He then turned around to see the Tsukikage struggling to sit down.  
"The Four-Tails... was sealed inside of him. He is our son." Kohaku said, staring at Hachirouta as tears fled her dark gray eyes.   
Hachirouta`s eyes widened. The savage beast who had just destroyed a part of their village, killed so many people and was the reason of all that havoc was now inside that peaceful, calm baby? It was unbelievable. Takashi nodded, confirming what she had just said.  
"Hachirouta, listen now." said the gray-haired man. "It`s useless to call even the more skilled of the medics now. We were poisoned, and by now the poison has already spread through our bodies. It`s just a question of time until both me and Kohaku die." How? How could he stay so calm while announcing his own death? "I know what it means to seal a tailed beast inside a human. I know exactly everything that is going to happen. Listen, Hachirouta… I need you to do something really important to me. One last favor."  
"Of course, Takashi-sama… anything you want..."  
"Make sure our son is always safe. I know that it`ll be impossible to protect him from the hate of all the civilians, but make sure he is out of any trouble. The reason why I did what I did is because the Four-Tails needed to be sealed within someone. Neither me or Kohaku would be fit for the job, because if the beast gets resurrected after our deaths, it could fall in wrong hands and cause another one of those horrible wars." He let out a sigh. "And I want my son to be able to control this power one day. I want him to become strong and be able to protect this village one day."  
He wanted his son to become a Tsukikage.  
"And now... the two most important things..." Takashi coughed up even more blood. "I, Takashi Minamoto, the Third Tsukikage of Soragakure, appoint you, Hachirouta __Katsuragi, to the position of the Fourth Tsukikage." His voice began to fail midway into the sentence, but Hachirouta understood everything nevertheless. Takashi`s bloody and pale lips contracted into a smile. "And... his name is... Katsumi... Minamoto..." With that, Takashi`s lifeless body fell forwards, towards Hachirouta all of a sudden. He grabbed the corpse and gently laid it next to Kohaku in the same position._  
The woman was still holding the infant on that tight, yet gentle grip. She gave him the same smile Takashi had just given him.  
"Hachirouta… thank you... keep Katsumi safe..." And then she was gone too.  
Hachirouta then closed the eyes of both of them and tried to take the baby from his mother`s embrace as gently as he could. Right when he held him, Katsumi started crying. Did he know? The moment he opened his eyes was when Hachirouta finally noticed they were a very dark gray color. So he had his father`s hair and his mother`s eyes.

Hachirouta blinked, finally free from his reverie, to see that the ANBU were still there waiting for his orders. He couldn`t let himself think of that in that moment. Emotions would just ruin everything. Emotions were just a bother for a ninja. It didn`t matter if it was Takashi`s son. Now he was no more than a deserter.   
"I want you to get our most skilled ANBU teams and send them to search for the boy. The rest should stay here to help protect the village if anything happens." He let out a sigh. "And I`m going too."   
"Tsukikage-sama, you can`t! It`s way too dangerous..."   
But he didn`t pay attention to the remark and immediately left with no other word. Not even he knew why he was acting like that, that mission was the last thing he wanted to do. Just what was Takashi`s son planning? Hachirouta only knew him from afar. He had never approached the boy before, he didn`t know him well. But of course he didn`t break the promise he made to Takashi and Kohaku. He had rented Katsumi a room in the public building of Sora and sent him money every month through letters. So he did keep the boy safe. Becoming his friend wouldn't keep him any more safer. Just what he did was enough, he thought. And even so, Katsumi had now ran away. Takashi would never do that, he knew. Takashi was strong and brave, and never ran away of anything, he would rather stay and die than run away and survive. But now he was gone, and his son was the only thing that remained of him. And his son was a coward. Hachirouta clenched his fists at the thought of Takashi sacrificing his own life for a coward. For the first time in all those years, Hachirouta wondered if he would be able to keep the promise of maintaining that child safe. He had to decide between the village and his master. The village and his teacher. The village and the man who treated him like a son.    
No, it wasn`t like that. Takashi had nothing to do with none of that! His son did, it was just his son, not Takashi. It was a decision between the village and a deserter. The village and a tailed beast. The village and a coward. A coward, that was what Katsumi Minamoto was.   
"I was wrong," Hachirouta mumbled under his breath. "You`re nothing like your father at all, Katsumi."   
The truth was he could barely stand looking at the boy. That short, spiky grayish white hair would always remind him of Takashi, no matter what. And along with the memories of him and Takashi practicing together would come the memories of that night, where the Third Tsukikage sacrificed his own life for that child to survive. And those large dark gray eyes could only remind him of Kohaku Uzumaki. It was like a curse, a punishment to have to look at Katsumi and remember all of that. What in hell had he done to deserve that? That was too much.    
Hachirouta was in the middle of the village when someone wearing an ANBU mask appeared in front of him, forcing him to stop. He was short, so the Tsukikage assumed him to be around 13 years old. The boy had short, light brown messy hair uncovered by the mask and was wearing the standard uniform of an ANBU.   
"Tsukikage-sama, please. Let me accompany you in this mission." he asked, and his voice was deep with a childish feel to it, as if he was in the middle of puberty.   
"This is my business. Get out of my way, boy." Hachirouta hissed angrily. "Or else I will have to take you out."   
"I`m sorry, I can`t." How sassy and bold that kid was angered Hachirouta. "You either accept my help or don`t go, sir."   
"Who the hell do you think you are, you brat?! How dare you give me orders?"   
The way the boy partly closed his eyes in an almost mocking way after that was visible through the mask.   
"I can`t tell you, Tsukikage-sama. An ANBU must never reveal their identity, isn`t that right?"    
"You are no more than an insolent, disrespectful brat!"   
The statement made the brown-haired one chuckle and he lifted one hand like he was going to explain something.   
"That`s not true at all, Tsukikage-sama. I have deep respect for the title of Tsukikage, and consequently, anyone that holds that title. If not, why would I be offering you my help?" he said. "As for your question earlier... I will tell you who I am, just this time. After all, you deserve to know the name of your successor as Tsukikage! I am Keiichi Aburaya… don`t you forget that name!"   
That was his breaking point. Before his fist could reach the other male`s face, however, he made a quick hand signal.   
"Shunshin no Jutsu! Body Flicker Technique!"   
The old body flicker technique. Hachirouta felt like an idiot. Of course he had tried to punch Keiichi as slowly and weakly as possible to not severely injury him, but it should have reached him. He couldn`t deny, however, that such abilities were impressive, which explained why he had become an ANBU at such an age. Hachirouta looked up to see him sitting on a    tree branch.   
"Do anything you want to me, Tsukikage-sama… but as long as I`m at full control of my body, I won`t give up!"   
"I can use that jutsu too, you know."   
In less than one second later, Hachirouta was in the same tree branch, right behind Keiichi. As the young ninja turned behind, he was received with a punch that hit its target this time. As the pieces of his mask flew everywhere, Hachirouta saw wide, shocked lime-green eyes and the boy fell on the ground, unconscious. Hachirouta then put him on a bench near, because of course he wouldn`t leave that boy on the ground just like that. As annoying as he had been, that kid seemed more like Takashi`s son than Katsumi. Thinking about that hurt Hachirouta more than any physical attack could.   
The Tsukikage continued his way toward the forest surrounding Soragakure, hoping that Katsumi would be somewhere near there. He was simply looking for somebody with gray hair, because he realized he didn`t even know the boy`s age. He didn`t remember how much time had passed since Takashi`s death. Sometimes it felt like a distant past, over 20 years ago, and sometimes it felt like a recent event, like it had just happened 5 minutes ago.   
It took a very long time, but he finally found him.   
First he had heard a distant sound and went to investigate. Only when he got closer he realized it were sobs. Childish sobs that could belong only to Katsumi. Then he saw him, sitting by a tree and hugging his legs with his head buried between them.    
"Kid."   
Katsumi lifted his head to face him. His face was red because of so much crying, and the water dripping down his cheeks further proved that. His eyes widened with fear as he met Hachirouta`s and he let out a little gasp of surprise.   
"Tsu… T-Tsukikage-sama…" he stuttered, barely able to speak because of the fear and because he was crying.   
"Why are you here? You know that what you did makes you a deserter, don`t you?"   
He said nothing in response, using his hands to try sitting up better while swallowing and making low sounds to keep himself from crying. And despite the obvious fact he was terrified, he never broke eye contact with Hachirouta, never even blinked. The look on his eyes was powerful, just as powerful as the look his mother had on hers. His chest was rising and lowering really fast, following his racing heartbeats. Hachirouta didn`t try to rush him. After some seconds of silence, a lone tear fled Katsumi`s eyes, his lips trembling. More tears followed the first one and he closed his eyes shut, squeezing them. He lifted his small hands and gave Hachirouta a hug. It was a desperate hug, like he had felt the need to touch someone, anyone, for such a long time and only now he could do that. His silent weeping became a loud cry after that, his gasps echoing through the nearby area. Hachirouta let him cry.    
"E-everyone... j-just hates m-me... T-Tsukikage-sama… w-why... did I-I do something b-bad to d-deserve this..." Katsumi said as he cried, for the first time being able to talk to someone like that. At some point the things he was saying simply became incoherent babbles, but Hachirouta still listened and let him talk. Katsumi cried, gasped, coughed, panted and screamed like he had never before. Only some minutes later he calmed down more and what he was saying became understandable again. "I d-didn`t want to r-run away... I like S-Soragakure… but everyone t-thinks I`m a monster, and... I thought i-it`d be better for m-me and for them if I-I was g-gone... everyone would be happy... Sora would be safe... and I would find a place where I was accepted. I want... to find something to protect, Tsukikage-sama. I want to understand... what love is. I want to love someone. I want to be loved by someone."   
Katsumi wasn`t a coward. Only know Hachirouta could see how noble, how kind, how humble he was, and there were no words to describe that. He was filled with a feeling he had never felt or heard of before. It was like a mix of guilt, sadness, happiness, awe and... love. If only he had let that stupid feeling aside and tried to stay with Katsumi earlier. If only he had discovered his altruist heart earlier, maybe he could have made him happy even if just a little. There was just no way for him to fathom the suffering inside that child, because only a Jinchuuriki could understand a Jinchuuriki. Katsumi`s pain was way greater than his, but he, with his stupid pride, had ignored that for so many years and left that boy to be tortured by the glares, the insults and mainly, the loneliness. Hachirouta thought that providing him shelter and food was what Takashi and Kohaku had meant when they asked him to keep Katsumi safe. He was wrong. He gave Katsumi everything, except the most crucial thing: love. Katsumi didn`t know what love was, he didn`t know what parents were, and it was all because of him. Having his love wouldn`t save Katsumi from the prejudice of the villagers, but it would give him motivation, it would help him become stronger and motivate him to keep going. Katsumi deserved everything. He, Hachirouta, didn`t.   
"T-Tsukikage-sama… are you..."   
He realized only when the sole tear fell to the ground. Never had Hachirouta cried before someone. Never. And there was him now.    
"Katsumi, I want you to come with me. We`re going back to the village."   
The boy quivered.   
"Don`t worry about it. You won`t get hurt, I swear. I just want to show you something I should have shown you long ago."   
And there they went. The streets of Soragakure were completely empty and silent, and they approached an area surrounded by a metal fence with many tombstones on it. The Sora cemetery. Katsumi was clearly confused, but chose to not ask any questions and just followed Hachirouta until he stopped next to two graves.    
"Tsukikage-sama… what is that? On those graves it says... Kohaku Uzumaki and Takashi... Minamoto? Who are those two? And why does one of them have my surname?"   
"Kohaku Uzumaki and Takashi Minamoto are your parents, Katsumi."   
The child`s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. He lifted his head to stare at Hachirouta, because he had to have heard that wrong. His parents. The parents he wanted to have for so long. They were there now?   
"I know you`re confused and you have many questions. I`ll explain everything to you." said Hachirouta, placing a hand on his shoulder. "First I`ll tell you about your mother. She wasn`t born here in Soragakure, she was born in a village called Uzushiogakure. The ninjas of Uzushio were feared due to their abilities in Fuuinjutsu, and that eventually led to the village`s destruction. Since our ninjas also are specialists in Fuuinjutsu, we reinforced our security and defenses. The surviving ninjas of Uzushio now live in many different places, mostly in Konohagakure. Your mother came to our village, though." He made a little pause. "As for your father... he was born here on Sora. He  was a wonderful ninja. He became a Jounin when he was just 13 years old, and the people on his team were almost his age! He later became the Third Tsukikage of Sora."   
"And how did they..."   
"Well, a long time ago, we obtained the Four-Tailed beast through the First Hokage of Konoha. It was sealed within many people as time passed, but in the day of your birth, it was extracted and released on the village. Takashi and Kohaku were going to die, so their last act was to seal it inside you to avoid having it destroy the village in any way. They also wanted you to use that power to become a hero."   
"A hero... does that mean that... they loved me?"   
"Yes. Your parents loved you very much... they gave their lifes for you, because they believed in you to build a new future. They wanted your happiness."   
A joyful smile appeared on Katsumi`s face.   
"For the first time... I feel loved. And even though I never met my parents, I feel like I know them so well... and I love them. Thank you so much, Tsukikage-sama…"   
"Call me just Hachirouta, Katsumi."   
"Okay. Thank you, Hachirouta-san... this made me feel a lot better about the pain inside of me. My parents were heroes that saved this village, and I am their legacy... so I won`t let them down. I hope that, one day, I can too become a hero like them."   
"You will... I`m sure you will. Don`t listen to what anyone else tells you. Katsumi, you`re much more than just the Four-Tails." Katsumi`s eyes widened a little after the statement.   
"Oh, he doesn`t like it when you call him Four-Tails. He gets really, really mad! It`s scary."   
It made Hachirouta wonder how often he tried to communicate with said beast. Probably frequently due to the loneliness that had befallen him. But it would be different now. Now Hachirouta was going to do everything right. Katsumi wouldn`t be so lonely anymore. And Hachirouta would try his best to be, to Katsumi, what Takashi was to him.   
"Katsumi... if you want, I can help you train your abilities. From now on I swear I`ll do my best to support you. If you want it, that is."   
"Ha!" The child extended his two hands towards Hachirouta, showing his palms with a big smile on his face. The man just stood there, confused. His lack of reaction made Katsumi`s excited expression fade away, replaced by a now perplexed one. "Isn`t this what people do when they have achieved something big? Once I saw some children graduating from the academy, and they were doing this..."   
"Ah, so that`s what you mean. Here." He pushed his own hands towards Katsumi`s and their palms touched with a loud sound. Katsumi`s hands was very tiny and pale compared to his, but his smile at that moment was huger than any smile Hachirouta could ever give. And then the boy closed his eyes and let out pure, childish laughter that made the feeling that Hachirouta had to protect him grow even larger.   
"You should go home now, Katsumi. It`s late. I will communicate everyone of your return."   
"Okay... I`m going now. Bye-bye, Hachirouta-san!"   
He insisted on waving to Hachirouta during all the way, and even when he was not even visible anymore, Hachirouta knew he was still waving and smiling. For all the time he had quietly observed that boy, he had never seen him show any feeling that wasn`t sadness, much less happiness. And there he was now. Hachirouta smiled to himself and directed his gaze to the night sky, most specifically at that moon lightning up their village.   
"Takashi-sama… Kohaku-san... your dreams have reached this boy!"

** Omake **

**** "Genya," Hachirouta called, without even looking at the ninja standing next to him. "I want you to tell me more about the boy known as Keiichi Aburaya."   
"Keiichi Aburaya-kun? That boy in the ANBU?" Genya asked.   
"Yeah, that one. Tell me everything you know about him."   
"Right. Keiichi-kun is currently 13 years old and heights exactly 156.7 centimeters. His hair is brown, his eyes are green and--"   
"Not physical characteristics, you idiot! I meant about him. His life, his personality. That."   
"Ah, of course! We know that Keiichi-kun`s parents died in the night of the Four-Tails` attack..."   
"He doesn`t like it when you call him Four-Tails." Hachirouta mumbled. He did loathe the beast with all his strength, but Katsumi had told him that.   
"What?"   
"What, what? I said nothing! Keep on going."   
"As I was saying... they were killed that day, when he was just 5 years old. But he seemed to have a mind of steel, because that fact didn't shake him at all. If anything, he was proud to hear that, because it meant his parents were heroes. Keiichi-kun then started using that claim to train really hard and become like them."   
"Just like Katsumi..." Hachirouta mumbled again.   
"What?"   
"Nothing! Go on!"   
"Sure. His teachers described him as very bold, cheeky and insolent. He seems to have quite a big pride in himself and his abilities. Despite that, he was a good student and graduated from the academy at the age of seven. He then became a Chuunin at age 10, a Jounin at age 12 and just recently has become an ANBU. There he is known as Yatou."   
"I see. He seems to be quite an individual."   
"He is. But why did you ask?"   
"Like I`ve told you... no reason! Now close that door, someone could be listening."


End file.
